TURMERIC farmers of Natoka, Navatusila in Navosa are concerned at the lack of government assistance towards their farms, and that they are being discouraged from visiting agricultural offices because they feel like they are “looked down on”.
Farmer Epineri Leotukana said they had been finding it hard to keep up with the use of online systems because of poor or no internet connection at all in the highlands.
“We need assistance for our turmeric farms, especially from the agricultural side because they don’t come and survey our land,” Mr Leotukana told a farmers forum workshop in Suva yesterday.
“We also have issues with the cost of transportation. Right now, travelling by carrier from our village to Ba Town costs up to $250 one way, which means we pay almost $500 for a return trip. This is ridiculous.
“Digitalising everything may not be good for us in the highlands because our farmers, especially our elders, are not familiar with online sites and there is hardly any internet connection. It’s useless.
“It’s discouraging for us as well when we visit agricultural offices because we feel like they look down on us because we are not well-versed with online portals.”
Mr Leotukana said they also face problems with the market price of turmeric because middlemen tend to sell it for more than its purchase price.
“Sometimes, when we bring our supply to the middleman, they tell us our turmeric are rejects and that they will purchase it for $1.20 a kilo,” he said.
“Then they go and sell it for $80-$100 a kilo, which is why we are here at the workshop to seek advice on market prices.
“We have everything else laid out, our plans and targets and we think a good price for us is $5 – $9 a kilo because we need to take into account transportation costs, horse carting and other factors.”
Mr Leotukana was joined by two other farmers from the same village who raised similar concerns at the workshop.
